Tokyo diary - day two

Left Tokyo and I'm on the bullet train from Tokyo to Shin Kobe. It's about the distance between Wellington and Auckland and will take two hours and 55 minutes.
Am not sure how fast it is going. Will need to ask the head of Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Maarten Wevers, who is sitting a few seats further up near John Key.
Wevers is a great asset on John Key's trip. He is a great interpreter of things Japanese and speaks the language too.  As a former diplomat he was posted to Tokyo twice, the last time as ambassador between 1994 and 19997.
Wevers has just said it's going about 220km or 230 kms an hour and it will take two hours and 49 minutes.
They have internet wireless on the train and plugs for appliances so that if you don't have the latest light laptop with 6 hours battery life ( and I don't yet) you can still work away. Key's party is off to see a bio-gas plant and a cheese factory and to speak to a business group then he's flying back to meet the Japanese PM tonight.
One of the embassy's diligent officials has handed out croissants and sheets of the logistics of today's trip, the sort of documentation you don't normally see, including seating plans for every place Key will visit that has seats. I had not realised the sort of detail that goes into these trips.
Key came down to make sure I had seen Fujiama on the right of the train. By the time I'd said I had, it was disappearing out of view.
The rest of the view isn't what you'd call scenic with millions of grey buildings shrouded in a light haze.
Such a contrast to the brightness and colour of Tokyo. A brilliant city I am rediscovering. Easy to get around in taxis or underground. Beautiful. Quaint back alleys full of little eateries and huge glitzy department stores on the avenues.
Key hosted the grand opening of the giant ball last night at the foot of Tokyo Tower - I notice they avoid calling it the Big Ball. He reckons that over 100 Japanese journalists had covered the events of yesterday. It didn't seem that many to me but most of them don't go around with 'press' pinned to their caps these days. Tourism New Zealand will be monitoring the coverage.
I ran into Rodney Joyce, who used to be in the Press Gallery for Reuters, and is now in Tokyo for Reuters along with about 150 other journalists. Rodney is also Steven Joyce's brother.
The Dutch PM has been in Tokyo for a couple of days without being noticed by anyone so it will be interesting to see if NZ is noticed. The story gripping the country at present is one involving a woman suspected of being a serial killer. Seems four men she has been closely linked with appear to have committed suicide - or did they? Police are now investigating. For example she bought lots of charcoal before one of them died from charcoal poisoning.
Also met Wayne Hunter from Te Kuiti, who came to Japan on a working holiday 25 years ago and hasn't left.  He started on a construction site and is now the director of professional services at the foreign correspondents club of Japan. And he has the Dalai Lama speaking on Saturday.